Fuel - What to eat?
Discussion
OK, as the miles I am doing on each trip, I am starting to feel the lack of energy towards the end of the day.
The PT instructor has suggested that I 'carb load' the day before I know I am going to do a big ride, and eat high energy food during.
I am trying to lose a rather large stomach as part of the process of getting bike fit, so feel that I need to be careful of what I eat.
So the question is, what is best to eat the day before and during any such ride? Everything on the day must be suitable for carrying about the person in pockets.
The PT instructor has suggested that I 'carb load' the day before I know I am going to do a big ride, and eat high energy food during.
I am trying to lose a rather large stomach as part of the process of getting bike fit, so feel that I need to be careful of what I eat.
So the question is, what is best to eat the day before and during any such ride? Everything on the day must be suitable for carrying about the person in pockets.
Soreen Lunchbox Loaves. The perfect size for the jersey pockets 
http://www.soreen.com/our-products/lunchbox.html
http://www.soreen.com/our-products/lunchbox.html
As for losing weight, not fuelling enough won't necessarily help - you'll either bonk (flake out) or end up eating the wrong stuff - so getting diet balanced is the right way forward.
A friend of mine who is unbeleivably fit and strong reckons he eats a whole kilogram of spuds (any which way) on the day before a big ride. He says pasta will do, but spuds is preferred route.
You will need to experiement to find what works for you though, because we're all different.
A friend of mine who is unbeleivably fit and strong reckons he eats a whole kilogram of spuds (any which way) on the day before a big ride. He says pasta will do, but spuds is preferred route.
You will need to experiement to find what works for you though, because we're all different.
Traditional: Bananas, malt loaf.
Scientific: SIS Gels or similar.
I've used the gels in marathon training. The key is to plan when you're going to use them rather than waiting until you feel tired - it's too late then!
Edit: In terms of diet generally, I eat a decent amount of carb and protein and try to keep the fat under control (but not eliminated). I'm not trying to lose weight so it really is just fuelling for life. I've never really "carb-loaded" for any competitions and certainly not for training but then eat quite a lot of carbs anyway.
Scientific: SIS Gels or similar.
I've used the gels in marathon training. The key is to plan when you're going to use them rather than waiting until you feel tired - it's too late then!
Edit: In terms of diet generally, I eat a decent amount of carb and protein and try to keep the fat under control (but not eliminated). I'm not trying to lose weight so it really is just fuelling for life. I've never really "carb-loaded" for any competitions and certainly not for training but then eat quite a lot of carbs anyway.
Edited by ewenm on Tuesday 24th July 11:17
it will vary massively from person to person but for 65 miles/100kms at an average pace of 25km/h, I would take two 750ml bottles, one with water, one with SiS electroylte stuff (lemon/line). I'd also take a banana, two or three gels, and three frusli bars. I'd normally come home with a gel and a frusli bar. I also take a £2 coin for emergencies (eg cold cans of coke from petrol stations!).
I personally dont think you need to carb up for that sort of distance although i admit my speed isnt that high. carbing up becomes more important as you go for longer rides of 100 miles + and long rides on consecutive days where its important to build up reserves. your normal diet should contain enough carbs to see you through 65 miles at a steady pace albeit with some extras on the ride. its my understanding that on shorter rides its better for the body to simply replenish a percentage of the energy consumed, rather than burn off what is stored and then eat as you recover shortly after the ride.
I personally dont think you need to carb up for that sort of distance although i admit my speed isnt that high. carbing up becomes more important as you go for longer rides of 100 miles + and long rides on consecutive days where its important to build up reserves. your normal diet should contain enough carbs to see you through 65 miles at a steady pace albeit with some extras on the ride. its my understanding that on shorter rides its better for the body to simply replenish a percentage of the energy consumed, rather than burn off what is stored and then eat as you recover shortly after the ride.
OP, are you cycling to train? To lose weight? Or a bit of both?
Because the food advice for each will be different.
It's all well and good to hear stories of how a super-fit athlete eats a kg of potatoes a day or whatever, but they are already super-fit so hence don't need a calorie defecit. If you want to lose weight, you have to eat less than you burn.
I'd say you probably shouldn't be doing a 4,000 calorie ride without any in-ride consumption. Up to about 2,000 calories you shouldn't need any energy boost (unless of course it's training/speed needed rather than fat burn).
Over 2,000 calories, I'd aim to eat/drink about 100-200 calories for every 1000 of burn - that will ensure you can go a bit further and probably maintain a higher pace too - which in turn will burn more calories.
Because the food advice for each will be different.
It's all well and good to hear stories of how a super-fit athlete eats a kg of potatoes a day or whatever, but they are already super-fit so hence don't need a calorie defecit. If you want to lose weight, you have to eat less than you burn.
I'd say you probably shouldn't be doing a 4,000 calorie ride without any in-ride consumption. Up to about 2,000 calories you shouldn't need any energy boost (unless of course it's training/speed needed rather than fat burn).
Over 2,000 calories, I'd aim to eat/drink about 100-200 calories for every 1000 of burn - that will ensure you can go a bit further and probably maintain a higher pace too - which in turn will burn more calories.
oyster said:
OP, are you cycling to train? To lose weight? Or a bit of both?
Because the food advice for each will be different.
It's all well and good to hear stories of how a super-fit athlete eats a kg of potatoes a day or whatever, but they are already super-fit so hence don't need a calorie defecit. If you want to lose weight, you have to eat less than you burn.
I'd say you probably shouldn't be doing a 4,000 calorie ride without any in-ride consumption. Up to about 2,000 calories should need any energy boost (unless of course it's training/speed needed rather than fat burn).
Over 2,000 calories, I'd aim to eat/drink about 100-200 calories for every 1000 of burn - that will ensure you can go a bit further and probably maintain a higher pace too - which in turn will burn more calories.
Primarily it started that I needed to lose weight. Doc is bBecause the food advice for each will be different.
It's all well and good to hear stories of how a super-fit athlete eats a kg of potatoes a day or whatever, but they are already super-fit so hence don't need a calorie defecit. If you want to lose weight, you have to eat less than you burn.
I'd say you probably shouldn't be doing a 4,000 calorie ride without any in-ride consumption. Up to about 2,000 calories should need any energy boost (unless of course it's training/speed needed rather than fat burn).
Over 2,000 calories, I'd aim to eat/drink about 100-200 calories for every 1000 of burn - that will ensure you can go a bit further and probably maintain a higher pace too - which in turn will burn more calories.
king me for being overweight, saying it has pushed up my blood pressure, and that by losing weight it should help (I'm seventeen stones at the moment).But then I have been talked into doing a coast to coast bike ride later in the year, with a plan of crossing Morecambe to Scarborough within 24 hours.
So its a bit of both, I need to lose weight, and I need to get fitter.
On the ride last Sunday I ate sandwiches for lunch, and had one of those gel energy boost thingies. I set off with two 500ml bottles filled with the electrolyte stuff, and had these refilled with plain water on the way around, so drank about 2 litres on the trip, plus coffee etc at break stops.
It is really easy to over eat on these things – some of the Sports Gels and Energy drinks are often snake oil in my opinion. I have run Marathons, done various 100+ rides etc.
If a 100 mile ride takes say 6 hours then that is about 750 calories per hour assuming a 15 – 18 mph pace.
I’d have two bottles of half flat lemonade and half water mixed. Then I’d probably take two muesli bars or flapjacks. Around 1000 calories and sugary. I wouldn’t eat carbs on the ride, but the night before I would have around 150g of pasta (i.e. a big helping)
Carb loading is actually a pretty specific thing you really need a whole week, three days with NO carbs, the three days of carbs all the time, really only required for extreme activities where small percentages matter.
If a 100 mile ride takes say 6 hours then that is about 750 calories per hour assuming a 15 – 18 mph pace.
I’d have two bottles of half flat lemonade and half water mixed. Then I’d probably take two muesli bars or flapjacks. Around 1000 calories and sugary. I wouldn’t eat carbs on the ride, but the night before I would have around 150g of pasta (i.e. a big helping)
Carb loading is actually a pretty specific thing you really need a whole week, three days with NO carbs, the three days of carbs all the time, really only required for extreme activities where small percentages matter.
If you only feel an energy drop in the last mile of 65 then forget the food and keep shedding the weight. Eat a healthy meal when you finish.
For a longer ride consider the standard malt loaf and make sure you take some water.
After only a few weeks of cycling it's a bit early to start doing anything drastic. Remember that any excess calories will just slow the weight loss.
For a longer ride consider the standard malt loaf and make sure you take some water.
After only a few weeks of cycling it's a bit early to start doing anything drastic. Remember that any excess calories will just slow the weight loss.
Magic919 said:
If you only feel an energy drop in the last mile of 65 then forget the food and keep shedding the weight. Eat a healthy meal when you finish.
For a longer ride consider the standard malt loaf and make sure you take some water.
After only a few weeks of cycling it's a bit early to start doing anything drastic. Remember that any excess calories will just slow the weight loss.
Yep but if he is stepping up from 65 to 100 he isn't going to make it without some intake. For a longer ride consider the standard malt loaf and make sure you take some water.
After only a few weeks of cycling it's a bit early to start doing anything drastic. Remember that any excess calories will just slow the weight loss.
I tend to agree with around 150 calories intake per 1000 burned as a good balance.
I'm not far off of the OP's weight etc and recently trained for and completed a 100km ride
Initially I found that after 60 kms or so I would start to run out of energy, I started taking 1 ltr of Lucozade Sport (280 cals approx) in my bottles, and also some Jelly Beans - standard ones from a sweet shop, not expensive sport specific ones. This combo gave me more than enough energy to do 100km without any problems.
As has been said you carry approx 1600-2000 calories in easily available energy in your body, you need to start topping this up before it runs out, but no need to go mad with tons of food as it defeats the weight loss element of the riding.
I found even doing 100km a week on training rides, approx 4000 cals according to my HRM, I still could not simply eat / drink what I wanted and still lose weight
Initially I found that after 60 kms or so I would start to run out of energy, I started taking 1 ltr of Lucozade Sport (280 cals approx) in my bottles, and also some Jelly Beans - standard ones from a sweet shop, not expensive sport specific ones. This combo gave me more than enough energy to do 100km without any problems.
As has been said you carry approx 1600-2000 calories in easily available energy in your body, you need to start topping this up before it runs out, but no need to go mad with tons of food as it defeats the weight loss element of the riding.
I found even doing 100km a week on training rides, approx 4000 cals according to my HRM, I still could not simply eat / drink what I wanted and still lose weight
Digga said:
As for losing weight, not fuelling enough won't necessarily help - you'll either bonk (flake out) or end up eating the wrong stuff - so getting diet balanced is the right way forward.
Certainly agree with this! If the aim is to lose weight then you'll need to closely manage your diet and do plenty of low intensity sessions. These will also help improve your aerobic fitness.As you build a good aerobic base (and hopefully lose weight in the process) start to incorporate some interval based sessions - hard sprint/climbing followed by easy recovery - and you will notice an increase in strength.
In answer to your question though my 'routine' is as follows:
Pre Ride - Porridge/Toast 1-2rs before
During - 1 bottle SIS carb drink, 1 bottle water (refill during ride as necessary)
Nakd fruit/oat bars
Marmite sandwiches
Energy gels (for a quick boost if needed)
I try and eat something every 45mins or so but I think the key is to eat and drink regularly.
Recently bought a cooking book 'The Feed Zone' - it has some great ideas for ride snacks including a savoury bacon/egg bread cake!
You'll have to experiment and find what works for you - good luck with the training!
Dan
daz3210 said:
Is Lucozade really a good thing? I was told it is just flavoured sugary water in essence.
Pretty much describes all "Energy" drinks :-)Lucozade Sport is pretty much as you describe, but non fizzy and comes in flavours that are easy to drink - Lime etc and is availalble everywhere. 250 calories or so on a longer ride is not going to give you a beer belly straight away.
If you are looking for energy replacement, sugar is what you need, hence the Jelly Beans, they are also pretty much flavoured sugar.
It's also worth experimenting with a variety of foods/products. I was targeting a marathon that provided Lucozade Sport at the feed stations so started using that in my long training efforts. I discovered that it gives me stomach cramps so I had to switch to using gels and knew not to take the Lucozade in the race (water was also available - helps wash down the gels).
I know others who have unpleasant reactions to gels but are fine with Lucozade, so it's worth working out what works for you. Obviously with cycling there are more options because carrying bananas/flapjack/malt loaf is a lot easier.
I know others who have unpleasant reactions to gels but are fine with Lucozade, so it's worth working out what works for you. Obviously with cycling there are more options because carrying bananas/flapjack/malt loaf is a lot easier.
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